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Canadiens @ Oilers recap: Young stars, newcomers shine in another win – Habs Eyes on the Prize

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With a day off on Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens strolled back into Rogers Place with a massive amount of swagger following a 5-1 blowout on Saturday night. With a pair of two-goal efforts from Jeff Petry and Tomas Tatar, plus a stellar showing from Carey Price, Montreal romped through a shellshocked Oilers team.

The Oilers changed their lineup, possibly for the worse by swapping Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear for William Lagesson and Kris Russell on defence, but did add Zack Kassian back to Connor McDavid’s wing.

The Canadiens turned to Jake Allen in net for his first start in a Montreal uniform, while the Oilers stuck with Mikko Koskinen despite his poor showing on Saturday.

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Unlike the first contest, it was the Oilers who started the game in control, taking advantage of a poorly timed icing to start their offensive attack. The top line tried to take advantage of their matchup with the Habs’ fourth line, but a strong series of saves from Allen denied them the game’s opening goal.

Josh Anderson came up a bit lame after a hit deep in the Habs’ zone, but his absence was immediately forgotten by what happened next. An in-zone faceoff went back to Brett Kulak at the left point. Kulak, not seeing a lane, dished it off to Alexander Romanov playing to his right. The rookie waited a second, then snapped off a quick shot that hit Koskinen, then slowly slithered through him and into the back of the net, putting Montreal up by a goal midway through the first period.

The Canadiens threatened their own lead shortly afterward, with Phillip Danault taking a two-minute stop in the penalty box for interference. Connor McDavid, bafflingly, missed a clean chance, but a second penalty on Joel Armia also gave the Oilers a short crack at a two-man advantage. An incredible solo effort from Ben Chiarot to stop a pass then maul the puck-carrier allowed Montreal to kill off Armia’s holding penatly, only for Chiarot to then fire the puck out of play for a third straight penalty.

An impressive nearly seven-minute stretch of penalty-killing came to an end without a goal against, thanks to some extremely strong work across the board, but with a big nod to Jake Evans and Paul Byron during the final stretch. The heroic showing from the penalty-killers ensured Montreal took its one-goal lead into the first intermission, thanks to Romanov’s first career goal.

The second period started with the Canadiens’ top line nearly doubling the advantage on an ill-timed Koskinen rebound. Kulak fired a puck on net, and it dribbled to the right of the Oilers’ net, but Brendan Gallagher just missed the follow-up chance with Koskinen kicking out his pad to deny the Habs winger his first goal of the season.

The rookie goal-scorer put the Canadiens short-handed early into the period, being called for a hefty crosscheck into the back of Alex Chiasson. Some impressive speed from Evans and more timely clears fended off the Oilers for a fourth time, keeping the one-goal lead intact with just over 13 minutes left to play in the second period.

Danault managed to draw a call of his own shortly after the kill, sending Adam Larsson to the penalty box and Montreal to the power play. While the Habs generated a few looks, they didn’t find a breakthrough, but were given another shot late in the period after dominating possession in the Oilers zone for several minutes. The two units had plenty of chances, including Tyler Toffoli alone in the slot, and Nick Suzuki just as the penalty expired, but it was Koskinen finally coming up with a big save to keep the Habs from adding to their lead.

A badly timed late hit from Gallagher on Darnell Nurse put the Habs back on the penalty kill, however a kick save, and sprawling cover by Allen, denied Edmonton a chance to tie the game.

Then, a somewhat dubious call on Connor McDavid put the Habs back on the power play with just under two minutes left to play in the period. Devin Shore got tangled up with Jeff Petry on the ensuing attack, taking down Koskinen at the same time as Shea Weber broke in for a chance on net. He followed his own rebound, then banked the shot in off of Koskinen’s head as the Oilers goalie attempted to sort himself out. It was initially called no goal on the ice, but a bold challenge by Claude Julien forced the officials to reverse their call, giving Montreal a late two-goal lead.

While Chiasson nearly scored before the clock expired, his heavy shot clanged off the post, and the Canadiens went into the second intermission with a two goal lead and a heap of momentum behind them.

Montreal started the final period slowly chipping away at the clock and keeping the Oilers’ big line quiet as best they could. Another cross-checking penalty, this time on Weber put Montreal short-handed for a sixth time with 16 minutes or so left to play. Again the rolling units of the Montreal penalty kill stymied the Oilers.

The penalty parade continued between the two clubs, with Larsson drilling Evans in the numbers, taking a two-minute penalty for interference just before the halfway mark of the final period. A massive pile up in the dying moments of the man advantage looked like it gave the Habs another goal, but a last-second whistle blew the play dead just as a Montreal stick chipped it past a sprawled Koskinen.

A seventh penalty by Montreal put the inept Oilers power play back on the ice, and Montreal took that personally. Petry poked the puck away in the slot, starting a two-on-one with Artturi Lehkonen and Danault, and the Finnish winger wired his first goal of the year under Koskinen’s glove to put the Habs firmly in control of the game.

A late Habs power play allowed the Oilers to get on the board, as Shore poked a puck off Jonathan Drouin’s stick, breaking in on Allen and rifling one by the Habs goalie. It allowed the Oilers a chance to also pull Koskinen, but they never got closer than two goals as Montreal saw out the end of the game without issue, winning 3-1.

Montreal continues the road trip, heading to Vancouver for a three-game stint with the Canucks, with a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday night, and a Saturday meeting to finish the week.

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Social media explodes after Auston Matthews' incredible game-winner goes viral – Toronto Sun

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Was it an alley-oop? A Hail Mary? A Jerry Rice post route? Catch and ReLeaf?

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Whatever it was, it was the goal Toronto Maple Leafs fans were waiting for.

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If the Leafs go on to beat the Boston Bruins and make it out of the first round for the second year in a row, fans will look back at Max Domi’s flip pass and Auston Matthews’ catch and finish as the moment it all became possible.

Matthews’ 70th goal of the season (69+1 if we’re splitting hairs) was maybe his finest.

The play: Incredible. The catch: Immaculate. The finish: Nasty. The timing: Perfect.

Social media had plenty to say about Monday’s game-winning goal, but first let’s listen to calls of the play from every corner of the playoff series:

Chris Cuthbert on Hockey Night in Canada:

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Retiring voice of the Boston Bruins Jack Edwards:

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Of course, nothing can compare to Joe Bowen’s call on Toronto radio. Any Leafs moment isn’t complete until fans hear what the High Priest of Holy Mackinaw said, and he didn’t disappoint:

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It didn’t take long for Matthews’ game-winner to go viral across social media, with fans, media and ex-players weighing in on the incredible goal. The Leafs and Bruins resume their first round series on Wednesday in Toronto at 7 p.m.

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Player grades: McDavid passes, Hyman scores, powerplay dominates, Oilers win Game 1 – Edmonton Journal

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Kings 4, Oilers 7

It was a game of big numbers at Rogers Place that featured 82 shots, 72 faceoffs, 112 hits and 11 goals.  Connor McDavid scored 5 points, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard 4 each. Adam Henrique scored his first playoff point in 12 years. And the Edmonton Oilers won the opening game of a playoff series on their home ice for the first time in 12,409 days.

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But win it they did, cruising to a 7-4 win over Los Angeles Kings to establish a 1-0 series lead in the 2024 edition of the seemingly annual opening round series between the two.

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It wasn’t always pretty, but several of the goals sure were. The Oilers held the advantage in play, outshooting the Kings 45-37 with an 18-10 advantage in Grade A Shots as recorded by the Cult of Hockey (running count). 8 of those Grade A shots came on a red-hot powerplay that produced 3 goals in a combined time of 4:50.

Player grades

Cult of Hockey game grades player grades

#2 Evan Bouchard, 7. Moved the puck well for the most part and had 4 secondary assists to show for it, not to mention a tertiary that doesn’t show up on the scoresheet. But was among the defensive culprits on both LA goals that cut a 4-0 lead in half before the end of the second period. Way more good than bad on the night. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +3/-2, Special Teams +1/-0.

#5 Cody Ceci, 6. Played a rock solid defensive game, landing 5 hits and winning the lion’s share of battles. Victimized on a couple of unlucky goals against in garbage time, and in the spotlight himself on 1 of them when his stick exploded making a routine D-to-D pass after a won neutral zone faceoff. His 19:00 at even strength led the team. GAS: ES +2/-3; ST +1/-0. 

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#13 Mattias Janmark, 5. Classic Janmark game in which not a whole lot happened during his 10 minutes of action, pro or con. Tagged with an undeserved -1 on the Ceci-stick-explodes goal. GAS: +0/-0; ST 0.

#14 Mattias Ekholm, 6. Solid with a couple of shaky moments. Made a couple of lunging stops on the same dangerous sequence. His neutral zone turnover led to a Viktor Arvidsson breakaway early in the second, then he was unable to contain Adrian Kempe on the 4-2. Delivered a great stretch pass to Hyman for a breakaway chance. Led the D with 2:00 on the penalty kill. GAS: ES +4/-2; ST 0.

Oilers Kings Hyman

#18 Zach Hyman, 9. All over it from the get-go, driving hard to the net time and again. Scored a goal in each period by materializing in a dangerous spot and converting a McDavid pass from close range. Added a primary assist on Henrique’s goal. Took a goalie interference for another net drive gone wrong. Later drew a call the other way. Hit a post in a scramble. Robbed by Talbot’s best save of the game on a breakaway. Took a knock on the continuation of that play and was in pain, but returned for another shift and appeared to be OK. May have set a record for most hats on the ice for a hat trick. 9 shots on net to lead both teams. Also added 5 hits and was a central figure in the battle all night long. GAS: ES +7/-1; ST+3/-0. 

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#19 Adam Henrique, 7. His first playoff game in 6 years and his first playoff win in 12. Won a battle leading to the first Oilers goal, scored the second himself with a strong wrist shot from range, then earned an assist on the third. Made a great aerial deflection of Ceci’s outside shot. Took a penalty. Among those beaten on the first Kings goal. GAS: ES +4/-1; ST +1/-1.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 6. Played a solid 2-way game with 7 shot attempts, 2 blocks, and 6 hits. Won a lot of battles along the way. Pasted Kempe in the early going with a booming open-ice hit. Safe and sound behind his own blueline until the very late going, when a cross-ice pass caught his skate and found the net to make it 6-3. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST 0.

#27 Brett Kulak, 5. Low event game including no goals at either end of the sheet during his 16 minutes. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST 0.

Oilers Kings Draisaitl

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. Nearly wrecked himself on his opening shift when he took a run at a King and missed, but thankfully survived. Did his best work on the powerplay, setting up an RNH tally with a brilliant pass and scoring the winning goal himself with a brilliant shot. Also made a superb pass to RNH on an even-strength 2-on-1 that wasn’t converted. Strong defensively. Drew a penalty. Rock solid on the faceoff dot at 15/24=63%. 3 shots at one end, 2 blocks (!) at the other. GAS: ES =0/-0; ST +5/-0.

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#37 Warren Foegele, 6. Mashed Drew Doughty with an excellent hit in the very early going. Played a simple, solid game. Scored the empty netter that finalized the score line, after first stealing the puck in the neutral zone.

#39 Sam Carrick, 5. Played his first career playoff game at age 32 and got the job done. His line with Holloway and Janmark lost the possession battle but held their own on the scoresheet until the late fluke. He did get tagged with a -1 on the 4-2, but his “mistake” there was to do the job hjje was sent out to do and win a d-zone faceoff. 1 shot, 2 blocks, 4 hits, and 10/18=56% on the dot. GAS: +0/-0; ST 0.

#55 Dylan Holloway, 5. Held his own in his second career playoff game. GAS: +0/-0; ST 0.

#71 Ryan McLeod, 6. Played a fine defensive game between the vets Kane and Perry. 2 takeaways, 2 blocked shots. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0.

#73 Vincent Desharnais, 6. Rock of Gibraltar on the blue, with 6 hits and 5 shot blocks. On the receiving end of a nasty low-bridge hit by Trevor Moore that left him in obvious pain as the second period wound down, but returned in the third to finish the job. Best of all, the Oil scored the game winner on the resultant powerplay. GAS: +0/-1; ST 0.

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#74 Stu Skinner, 6. Very good in the first half of the game. Contributed the TSN Turning Point when he got a tiny piece of his pad on Viktor Arvidsson’s breakaway shot, with the Oilers subsequently scoring on the continuation. The game that could have been 2-1, was instead 3-0. The back half of the game went less well with 4 official GA and a fifth which was gloved in and correctly called back after a couple of nervous minutes. Struggled a bit with rebound control. 37 shots, 33 saves, .892 save percentage.

#90 Corey Perry, 5. Put the puck in good places, including on Kane’s stick for a couple of great chances in tight. 3 hits, 2 takeaways. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0.

#91 Evander Kane, 6. Was visible throughout, mostly in good ways. Fired 6 shots on net including a couple of powerful wristers. nearly squeezing one through Talbot. Did have a couple of issues suppressing outside shots from the point. Led EDM forwards with 15:45 TOI at even strength. GAS: ES +3/-1.

#93 Ryan Nugent Hopkins, 6. Set up perfectly by Draisaitl for what apepared to be a wide open net, but the puck rolled off his stick. Made up for it a few minutes later with a strong goal mouth finish of another sweet Draisaitl feed. 4 shots, 2 blocks, 2 hits, 1 takeaway, and a team-high 2:04 on the 2-for-2 penalty kill. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +1/-0.

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#97 Connor McDavid, 9. Became just the 15th player in NHL history with 5 (or more) assists in a playoff game, joining dynasty Oilers Wayne Gretzky (2x), Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson  and 10 others from other teams. 4 of them were primary assists, including all 3 of Hyman’s tallies. Twice McDavid beat defenders with brilliant spin moves before dishing. Threaded a bullet pass through Matt Roy’s skates for Hyman’s hat trick goal. 3 shots, 3 hits, and uncounted passes. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +6/-0. 

Recently at the Cult of Hockey

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McCURDY: Kane, Janmark, Holloway all look good to go for Game One

McCURDY: Oilers vs. Kings anything but a foregone conclusion

STAPLES: Kane, Janmark missing from practice. What are the implications?

STAPLES: Pretty much every NHL commentator is picking Oilers over Kings

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CANUCKS PREPARE TO WELCOME FANS FOR STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS 'GAME #2' | Vancouver Canucks – NHL.com

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Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Canucks today announced that Rogers Arena doors will open at 5:30 p.m. PT, for Tuesday’s Stanley Cup Playoff Game #2, 30 minutes earlier than normal. The enthusiasm and passion of fans wanting to arrive early and not miss the Toyota Party on the Plaza as well as the in-arena pre-game show experience, encouraged the team to ensure the bowl is loud and proud when the pre-show begins at 7:00 p.m.

“Our players could not have been clearer after Game #1 that the fans played a huge part of the victory on Sunday night,” said Michael Doyle, President, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, Business Operations. “Our players are feeding off this energy and we want them to feel it from the second they step out of the dressing room.”

“I know the players and there was a lot of ‘wow’ with how loud the crowd was,” said Rick Tocchet, Head Coach. “Some guys told me they got emotional during it. I’m sure the crowd is going to be just as loud (for Game 2).”

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The Toyota Party of the Plaza will open at 4:30 p.m. with a wide range of activities for fans of all ages. From face-painting and ball hockey to the Michelob Ultra beer garden and live music on the Air Canada Stage with The Anthony LaRosa Band, the North Plaza will be the place to be to get ready for Game #2.

The Canucks also announced that a number of tickets and suites have been released and are available to the public at canucks.com/tickets.

We remind our fans to be cautious of fraudulent ticket sites and activities. Only authentic and verified Ticketmaster resale seats are protected. We encourage fans to avoid off-platform sites and purchasing through social media platforms as we cannot validate the legitimacy of tickets purchased outside of our organization or through Ticketmaster directly.

Rogers Arena will host an official ‘Away Game Viewing Party’ for Game #3 of the first round of NHL Playoffs. Presented by Rogers, the Viewing Party will be a ticketed event, costing $15, with proceeds benefiting the Canucks for Kids Fund. Watch the game on one of the biggest and brightest videoboards in the NHL, be entertained throughout the experience, and receive special Rogers Value Menu food and beverage offerings thanks to Rogers. Visit canucks.com/watch to secure your tickets.

Vancouver Canucks playoff merchandise is now available on vanbase.ca. From locker room exclusive items and jerseys, to car flags, player fanchains and Viper sunglasses, we recommend you order quickly or drop by the Canucks Store at Rogers Arena to get playoff ready.

Follow us on social media, download the Canucks App, and stay connected as unique content, contests and more announcements are made.

Media are reminded that any content-gathering on the plaza requires approval from the Vancouver Canucks Communications Team at [email protected]

Go Canucks Go!

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